RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin is poised to capitalise on US counterpart Donald Trump’s tendency to go off-message if they meet at a summit next month, experts have suggested.

Details have yet to be confirmed, but there is a growing belief that the two will meet either just before or just after the NATO summit on July 11 and 12 in Brussels, which the US President will attend.

And the sharp contrast between Mr Putin’s meticulous attention to detail and Mr Trump’s outwardly more haphazard approach has been highlighted by scholars and former diplomats interviewed by the Politico website.

Michael McFaul, who served as US ambassador to Russia during President Barack Obama’s second term, said: “Putin comes extremely well prepared for these meetings

“He knows what he is seeking to achieve. He does psychological work ahead of time to think about the strengths and weaknesses of the people he’s talking to.”

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Russian President Vladimir Putin with US opposite number Donald Trump (Image: GETTY)

William Pomeranz, an expert in Russian affairs at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, said Mr Putin was likely to view the meeting as an opportunity to manipulate Mr Trump, who went against the advice of his own advisers to congratulate the former KGB spy on his recent election victory.

He explained: “What Putin brings is an ability to articulate his demands, a better knowledge of what he wants out of these discussions and a track record of knowing how to manipulate people to get what he wants.”

Mr Putin is certain to have noted the praise heaped on North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un by Mr Trump after their meeting last month in Singapore.

If the US President directs similar compliments towards the Russian leader, Mr Putin will have achieved one of his key aims.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be "extremely well prepared" for his meeting with Mr Trump (Image: GETTY)

Experts believe this in turn could help him with longer-term strategic goals, including the endorsement of his decision to annexe Crimea in 2014, support for Russia’s policy of keeping President Bashar al-Assad in power in Syria, and ending efforts to expand NATO.

Even before their meeting, Mr Trump has voiced support for another Putin aim – the readmission of Russia into the G7 following its expulsion in the wake of the Crimea intervention.

Mr Pomeranz said Mr Trump’s unpredictability and habit of speaking off-the-cuff will be worrying officials within his own administration.

He said: “I think the assumption is that Trump will go off script.

Mr Putin will have noted the praise lavished on Kim Jong-un by Donald Trump (Image: GETTY)

“What we’ve learned with his recent summit in Singapore is that he loves the focus and attention that comes with this kind of high-stakes summit.

“There is always a risk that Trump promises something that his advisers don’t want him to put on the table.”

Another Russian aim, of reasserting itself on the world stage, is also likely to be served by the sight of the two leaders sharing a platform, conjuring up memories of the balance of power in the latter half of the 20th century.

Vladimir Chizhov, Russia’s ambassador to the European Union, said in a recent speech in Athens: “The bipolar world we got used to in the second half of the 20th century did have a range of deficiencies but also secured something that was extremely important, namely stability.

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“Despite all efforts within the last 20 years, a unipolar world never fully materialised — notwithstanding the illusions of those who expected to be able to manage all geopolitical processes and came to believe in their own exclusiveness.”

Meanwhile, the sight of Mr Putin and Mr Trump shaking hands will heighten concerns within Europe, suggested Jorge Benitez, a senior fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.

He said: “I think the Europeans have been worried about this meeting since Trump became president.

“The optics coming out of Singapore were not good. I think it raises fears of just how much he’ll embrace Putin.”